Erick Dampier made a decision, he wanted to take his backup center talents to South Beach, like everyone else. But for reasons not totally clear, Miami didn’t want him (Damps is not a great center, but he’s better than anyone they’ve got).

“I’ve talked to Milwaukee, Toronto, Portland, and one other team,” he said after confirming talks with the Rockets as well. “There’s no one in the No. 1 spot. I’m not in a rush. I just want to find the perfect fit and give myself an opportunity to compete for a championship.”

If a ring is really the goal, you can see why the Rockets are in the mix — they are a popular darkhorse pick by league pundits, and if Damps minutes can help keep Yao Ming healthy they are closer. However, Portland is right there and has more room for growth. They and Oklahoma City have positioned themselves as the teams to beat in the West after the Lakers step back (whenever that happens).

Dampier is in no rush.

“There’s different scenarios, different teams every day,” he said. “There’s no timeline. As of a couple days ago, a couple other teams had reached out and are wanting to talk to me, so we’ll probably go do interviews and sometime after that make a decision.”